UFC Nashville Gets ‘New’ Main Event

Sandhagen vs. Font

Umar Nurmagomedov shares his injury that forced him out of #UFCNashville
via his IG pic.twitter.com/ZtaAT2TSLx

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 20, 2023

Sandhagen was set to face rising contender- Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Nashville on August 5th, and Font was set to face Song Yadong on August 19th at UFC 292 in Boston. Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury while Yadong is unavailable for UFC 292 for undisclosed reasons. The two opponent-less Bantamweights have now found each other to create a ‘new’ main event for UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville, on August 5th.

Font who is now fighting two weeks earlier than initially planned will replace the injured Nurmagomedov, to fight Sandhagen in the evenings’ five-round main event. The fight will be at catchweight, which is presumably due to Font fighting sooner than expected. The new matchup was first reported by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.

Cory Sandhagen will now fight Rob Font at a catchweight in the main event of UFC Nashville on Aug. 5, sources told ESPN. Five-round fight.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 20, 2023

The number 7 ranked Bantamweight- Rob Font (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is 2-2 in his last four, defeating Cody Garbrandt via. Unanimous Decision and then losing to both Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera via. Unanimous Decision. Font got back in the win column in his most recent outing at UFC 287 back in April, defeating the 13th ranked Bantamweight- Adrian Yanez via. First-Round TKO. The main event with Sandhagen will be Font’s fourth scheduled five-round fight, going the full 25 each time and winning one of the three.

The number 4 ranked Bantamweight- Cory Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is also 2-2 in his last four bouts. Losing to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan both by Unanimous Decision, before winning two-straight, defeating Song Yadong (4th round, TKO) and Marlon Vera via. Split Decision. This will be Sandhagen’s fifth consecutive five-round fight, going 2-2 in the previous four scheduled 25-minute bouts.

The full updated card via. Tapology is listed below, keep in mind cards are subject to change.

• Catchweight Main Event: Cory Sandhagen vs. Rob Font
• Women’s Strawweight Co-Main Event: Jessica Andrade vs. Tatiana Suarez
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur
• Lightweight Bout: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. L’udovit Klein
• Featherweight Bout: Gavin Tucker vs. Diego Lopes
• Flyweight Bout: Ode Osbourne vs. Asu Almabaev
• Featherweight Bout: Billy Quarantillo vs. Damon Jackson
• Welterwight Bout: Jeremiah Wells vs. Carlston Harris
• Flyweight Bout: Jake Hadley vs. Cody Durden
• Featherweight Bout: Sean Woodson vs. Jesse Butler
• Bantamweight Bout: Raoni Barcelos vs. Kyler Phillips